MORE CHILEAN DESTINATIONS

Let’s head directly west of Santiago to a little spot called Robinson Crusoe Island…the largest of the three islands in the Juan Fernandez archipelago, was formerly known as Mas a Tierra, which means ‘closer to land’.  Its located 674 km (418 miles) from the mainland.  Formed by lava, the landscape on the island is very hilly and the beaches are sometimes rocky, but it looks heavenly.  According to the locals, pirates really did hang out there and it’s the spot where shipwrecked sailor Alexander Selkirk spent four years.  Selkirk story inspired Daniel Defoe to write….here it comes….”Robinson Crusoe”.

Back on mainland Chile we head north and inland to the Andes Mountains on the border with Bolivia and find a quaint little town known as Calama.  Here we find the El Tatio Geysers.  At 4,200 meters above sea level it is the third largest geyser field in the world.  Nearly 80 geysers erupt steam and some spew as high as eight meters (over 26 feet).  The early bird gets the best pictures, but be careful….there are no signs to warn visitors that they could fall through the cracks, and they do…regularly, and get burned.  Geez…hard to get happy after that.   

It’s been fun….I will miss doing this, sort of, and I will miss all your comments.  See you around…like a donut.  (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)  Pat

LET'S GO TO CHILE!

    Only two more weeks left to blog in this quarter so I’m going to spend them on the beautiful destinations of Chile.  (So you’ll have to look up all those boring facts yourself.)

    First, let’s start in Santiago, the capital city of Chile. And, let’s head straight for Santa Lucia Hill.  This volcanic hill, once named Huelen, meaning pain and melancholy, but has been called Santa Lucia since the colonizers came to town.  There are many beautiful buildings and it a great place for a romantic stroll and catch the view of Santiago below.

     From Santiago, we can catch a charter over to Easter Island.  Chile owns Easter Island, a fact I knew before my research.  But what I didn’t know is that this island, with over 800 large volcanic rock statues, is 2,180 miles off the coast of Chile.  That’s quite a ways away!   The remoteness of this island makes these statues even more fascinating.  And, I wonder why they all face inward toward the island?  Curious.

   After staring at all those big stone heads, you will likely need a beach time.  Head on back to the mainland and Vina del Mar.  This sweet city is one of Chile most popular tourist destinations.  (Check out the Flower Clock while you’re there.)  But, we’re here for the beaches, and Vina del Mar has some of the most gorgeous sandy paradises of the Pacific Ocean. 

Until next week….Enjoy!

With the Ecstasy comes the Agony

I know I said last week that we’d move on to Chile this week, but I lied.  Like it or not, even after we imaged ourselves in all sorts of lovely exotic places (the ecstasy) we now have to look at some of Argentina’s facts and figures (the agony).  I’ll make it as painless as possible.

·         Population: Approximately 40 Million

·         Capital: Buenos Aires

·         Total Size: 2,766,890 square km

·         Comparative Size: about 30% of the size of the U.S.

·         World Region: South America

·         Lowest Geographical Point: Laguna del Carbon (located between Puerto San Julian and Comandante Luis Piedra Buena)

·         Highest Geographical Point: Cerro Aconcagua (in the northwestern corner of Mendoza province)

·         Official Language: Spanish….but English, Italian, German, and French also spoken

·         Independence Day: July 9,

·         Major Holiday: Revolution Day, May 25

·         Major Religion: Roman Catholic (92%)

·         Major Exports: edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, fee and motor vehicles

·         National GDP: $518,100,000,000

·         Currency: Argentine peso (ARS)

·         Notable Moment in History: Juan Person elected president in 1946…and his wife, Eva, for better or worse, became more popular than he was

Well, that’s all for Argentina….Good, you say…believe me I didn’t enjoy this either...when I go to Argentina and I'm sitting under an umbrella on the beach sipping rum and coke, I won't be wondering about what religion the other 8% are.  So I promise, next week we’re back to exploring fun destinations…..On to Chile!

ARGENTINA: THE LAST LAP

Last week we hit three sweet spots in Argentina….and this week we’ll look at a few more before we move on to Chile.

Speaking of sweet, let’s head to Bariloche, the chocolate capital of Argentina.  I’ve heard that the only thing more prevalent in shop windows there are gnomes.  Now, who would have guessed that?  Or, who would have guessed that Bariloche’s mountain landscape make it a haven for snow skiers?   Hiking and trout fishing are also popular pastimes.

Two hours south of Bariloche is El Bolson.  El Bolson is Argentina’s hippy headquarters.   It’s a down to earth organic-type city with lots of homemade jams, jellies, and folk music.  Three times a week an artist fair is held in the town square where local artisans sell handicrafts and organically produced food.

One more destination in the Argentine Patagonia is Puerto Madryn, where the big draw is whale watching, the Southern White Whale to be exact.  This exciting activity is best seen in September and October.  Head south to see penguin colonies in Punta Tombo Natural Protected Area.  Penguins?  More Argentinian surprises.

What a great vacation spot this would be.  And, no one would believe all these different destinations and venues are in     Argentina.  Let’s go!

FUN TIMES IN ARGENTINA

With the beginning of week five, it’s time to turn our attention to Argentina.  Instead of starting with the dull, dry facts, let’s start on a sexier note: some interesting and beautiful destinations in theland of the gauchos.  First stop, Mar del Plata.

This beautiful resort area hosts hundreds of hotels along five miles of pristine beaches.  Only 250 miles south of Argentina’s capital city of Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata has a reputation for shopping, gambling and sunbathing.  What’s not to like?  And, when you’re bored with all that, head north to the city whose name literally means ‘Good Air’.

Sometimes referred to as the Paris of South America, Buenos Aires sounds like my kind of place.  The weather is pretty darn good all year round.  December through February, considered their summer, finds highs in only the mid-eighties.  (That sounds fabulous to someone like me who thought they were living in Kentucky but recently discovered it was the Sahara Desert where every day is hotter than the next.)  Winters only see lows in the mid-forties.  Now, take this pleasant weather and add a few sweet beaches, great architecture, wide boulevards, nightlife, food and fashion, and rich culture and you’ve have a recipe for   the good life….or at least an awesome vacation.

Head north to the border Argentina shares with Brazil and Paraguay to find the unbelievable natural water works called Iguazu Falls.  Though usually visited from Brazil, if you’re traveling in Argentina it’s not to be missed.  With nearly 300 falls, covering almost 3 miles, this grandeur of nature is higher and wider that Niagara Falls and may well be the most spectacular waterfall in the world.

We’ll look at a few more next week….Adios amigos.

Costa Rica: The Final Installment

We’ve learned a bit about Costa Rica of the past two weeks, so today let’s wrap it up with a few more details and a brief – very brief – history.

Do you know what the major industries in Costa Rica are?  I would have said tourism, but building microprocessors and food processing are the two biggest industries.  I knew that coffee was a major product in most all Central and South American countries, but the second largest for Costa Rica is bananas followed by sugar and pineapples. The Gross Domestic Products is approximately $45 billion and $7 billion of that comes from exporting the above and other items.

On his first trip to the Americas Christopher Columbus, in 1502, became the first European to set foot in Costa Rica.  The natives were not so friendly and made it difficult for Chris and his friends to establish cities until 1563 when Cartago was founded.  It remained a Spanish territory until independence was won in September of 1821.  Now, every year on September 15 the Costa Rican Ticos and Ticas celebrate Independence Day…their biggest major national holiday.

While it has no standing army – one of the few countries in the world who don’t – there have been few threats to this democratic nation.  One took place in 1917 under a dictatorship and the other in 1948 when rebels revolted and gave the presidency to Jose Figurers (photo at left).  Under Figurers, a new constitution was written and all were given the right to vote.  Today, Costa Rica’s President is Laura Chinchilla (photo below).  Great name, isn’t it? 

See you next week…when we’ll look at Argentina.

               

THE "RICH COAST" OF COSTA RICA

Let’s go to Costa Rica!  I know nothing about Costa Rica except my friends go there often and I am jealous.  They used to tell me when they were going, but my whining became so exaggerated that they stopped telling me until they got back.  That didn’t stop the whining…only delayed it.  So, now they don’t tell me at all; I just hear it from my other friends and then I call them too pissed to whine….and they laugh….guess that is what they were going far.  Anyway, enough about me and the green-streak-of-envy down my back; let’s look at some interesting facts about the country: Costa Rica.

·        Population: 4,075,261

·        Capital: San Jose

·        Size: Approximately 51,100 km…slightly smaller    than West Virginia

·        World Region: Central America (and also considered part of the Caribbean)

·        Geographical Highest Point: Cerro Chirripo (mountain)  (see photo)

The climate in Costa Rica is considered subtropical and tropical.  Its dry season is typically from December to April with the rainy season being the entire rest of the year.  Beaches, “I hear”, are exquisite.

Costa Rica is a Spanish speaking democratic republic that celebrates its independence from Spain on September 15.  The actual separation took place in 1821.

Guess that’s enough for now.  We’ll cover more ‘cold-hard-facts’ next week…along with a little history.  I think I’ll give my friends a call to see if I can get some first-hand information. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to talk to me about it.J